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All is set for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) 20th Anniversary celebrations under the theme, “Health Heroes:20 Years Strong.”
The official launch is scheduled for October 25, 2023, at the La Palm-Royal Beach Hotel in Accra.Currently, the NHIS has recorded more than 17 million active members and is looking forward to increasing it to 20 million during the year-long Anniversary celebrations.
To this end, in the coming months, the focus will be on awareness creation and mass registration exercises in all public settings to enroll more people in the NHIS.
The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Chief Executive, Dr. Bernard Okoe-Boye, and a host of dignitaries will formally launch the historic celebrations.
As part of the anniversary celebrations, the NHIA has planned to roll out a series of activities to engage its key stakeholders including NHIS members, healthcare service providers, and staff.
Past Chief Executives
At 20, the NHIS can so far boast of eight (8) Chief Executives comprising Dr. Samuel Akor, Honorable Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, Mr. Ras Boateng, Mr. Sylvester Mensah, Mr. Nathaniel Otoo, Dr. Samuel Yaw Annor, Dr. Lydia Dsane-Selby and the incumbent Dr. Bernard Okoe-Boye.
Management Commitment
As the NHIS looks into the future, the current Governing Board and Executive Management remain focused on transforming the Scheme and sustaining its growth.
Pre-Anniversary launch
Earlier, the NHIS and the World Health Organization (WHO) in Accra, jointly hosted a Regional Conference on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Financing and Health Security on the theme, “Overcoming financial barriers and providing financial risk protection.”
The conference convened key stakeholders including managers of thirty (30) health insurance agencies in Africa, finance ministries, development partners, academia, civil society organizations, and the media.
The policy dialogue created a platform for the participants to deliberate on concrete actions required to optimize domestic financing for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Health Security which are critical for accelerating progress towards the realization of UHC by the year 2030.
In the end, the stakeholders outlined innovations and pathways for African nations to mobilize more domestic resources for financing UHC and Health Security.
There was a strong call for increased investments in UHC and Health Security to achieve effective health systems in low-middle-income countries.
They recommended that more efforts should thus be made to ensure that health remains a priority in low-middle-income countries where governments are struggling to address the global economic downturn, post the COVID-19 pandemic recovery.
They highlighted the urgent need for African governments to establish innovative and sustainable health financing mechanisms and expand health insurance coverage.
Source: ABDUL KARIM NAATOGMAH
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